European Starlings

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris, Sturnidae) are native to Europe, southwest Asia, and North Africa and have successfully established populations on every continent but Antarctica (Rollins et al. 2009). In 1890 and 1891, a member of the American Acclimatization Society, Eugene Scheiffelin, released 100 starlings into New York City’s Central Park, with the objective of introducing all the birds mentioned in the plays of William Shakespeare to North America (Cabe 1993). He was successful, as 16 pairs survived and reproduced prolifically. Starlings reached the Mississippi River in 1928 and were observed on the West Coast in 1942. In a little over a century, the United States (U.S.) starling population grew to approximately 200 million (Feare 1984; Cabe 1993; Johnson and Glahn 1994), but has now declined to about 140 million (Jernelov 2017). They now inhabit all of North America. Their range extends southward to the Bahamas, Central America, the Yucatan Peninsula, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba. There are no subspecies in North America. Genetic analysis indicates that all starlings in North America descended from the New York City colony (Cabe 1993). Outside their native range, starlings are considered to be one of the most destructive invasive bird species worldwide, nominated by the Invasive Species Specialist Group, a science and policy network under the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, to the “100 World’s Worst” invaders (Lowe et al. 2004; Rollins et al. 2009)

European Starlings

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris, Sturnidae) are native to Europe, southwest Asia, and North Africa and have successfully established populations on every continent but Antarctica (Rollins et al. 2009). In 1890 and 1891, a member of the American Acclimatization Society, Eugene Scheiffelin, released 100 starlings into New York City’s Central Park, with the objective of introducing all the birds mentioned in the plays of William Shakespeare to North America (Cabe 1993). He was successful, as 16 pairs survived and reproduced prolifically. Starlings reached the Mississippi River in 1928 and were observed on the West Coast in 1942. In a little over a century, the United States (U.S.) starling population grew to approximately 200 million (Feare 1984; Cabe 1993; Johnson and Glahn 1994), but has now declined to about 140 million (Jernelov 2017). They now inhabit all of North America. Their range extends southward to the Bahamas, Central America, the Yucatan Peninsula, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba. There are no subspecies in North America. Genetic analysis indicates that all starlings in North America descended from the New York City colony (Cabe 1993). Outside their native range, starlings are considered to be one of the most destructive invasive bird species worldwide, nominated by the Invasive Species Specialist Group, a science and policy network under the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, to the “100 World’s Worst” invaders (Lowe et al. 2004; Rollins et al. 2009)

A farm-scale biodiversity and ecosystem services assessment tool: The healthy farm index

Farm management focused on maximizing biomass production results in biological simplification and ultimately a degraded production potential for the future. Despite the large and growing body of evidence pointing to the need to restore biodiversity to farm systems, incorporation of biodiversity and ecosystem services into local agricultural land use decision- making remains limited. The lack of planned and associated biodiversity may reduce resiliency of local managed ecosystems and add management costs; however, the trade-off for individual landowners of greater diversity is increased management complexity and uncertainty. To assist farmers in managing biodiversity and to encourage ecological thinking, we developed the Healthy Farm Index, a farm-scale tool that complements existing farm assessment tools by integrating multiple metrics and outputs suitable for applied decision-making and annual evaluation. In this article, we describe the impetus for the index development and the structure of the index and through a case study apply the index and discuss its varied outputs and applications

Biotic interactions in organic farm systems

Paper presented at the 11th North American Agroforesty Conference, which was held May 31-June 3, 2009 in Columbia, Missouri.In Gold, M.A. and M.M. Hall, eds. Agroforestry Comes of Age: Putting Science into Practice. Proceedings, 11th North American Agroforestry Conference, Columbia, Mo., May 31-June 3, 2009.Fire, drought, and grazing were primary ecological drivers of the historical Great Plains' prairie ecosystem. The suppression of fire, a shift in grazing and cropping systems, and the introduction of windbreaks and other woody vegetation altered the landscape. The abundance, vertical diversity, and composition of woody species have noticeably increased. A subsequent shift has been documented in relative abundance of bird species in the state, with shrubland and edge species filling the ecological niche created with the conversion of many cropland acres to woodland. Shrubland and edge birds may fill an important functional role in agroecosystems. Organic farms frequently have greater habitat heterogeneity then other farm types. Agroforesty is an important component of this habitat diversity. To quantify the effect of woody land-use and land-cover on biodiversity and to assess the functionality of avian species as predators in organic farm systems, avian and insect diversity were sampled on 23 organic farms in eastern Nebraska and Kansas in 2007 and 2008. Species response to the presence and arrangement of woodland cover on farms is of great interest. An N-mixture model was used to estimate abundance and detectability of farmland bird species. Results from these analyses will be used to assess the functional role of birds and explore relationships between insect and bird communities to determine whether woodland edge bird species have the potential to effectively suppress crop pests on organic farms.John E. Quinn (1), Ron. J. Johnson (2), and James R. Brandle (1) ; 1. School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, NE. 2. Department of Forestry & Natural Resources, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.Includes bibliographical references

The role of agroforestry practices in a healthy farm

Paper presented at the 11th North American Agroforesty Conference, which was held May 31-June 3, 2009 in Columbia, Missouri.In Gold, M.A. and M.M. Hall, eds. Agroforestry Comes of Age: Putting Science into Practice. Proceedings, 11th North American Agroforestry Conference, Columbia, Mo., May 31-June 3, 2009.The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is developing a Healthy Farm Index that reflects a vision of sustainable farming. The index uses multiple indicators within ecological, environmental, and socio-economic categories to assess production, biodiversity, and ecosystem services provided by sustainable farm systems. The value of various agroforestry practices is reflected in these indicators as a component that improves farm profitability, conserves biological diversity, and enhances ecosystem services to and from agroecosystems. Agricultural systems are typically managed to maximize the provision of food and fiber. In contrast, proponents of sustainable agricultural systems seek to optimize long-term outcomes that include multiple components of agroecosystems and rewards for farmers who use sustainable practices. Understanding how shape, arrangement, and management of agroforestry landscape features affect different components of the farm system is important, as is recognizing tradeoffs. Understanding tradeoffs requires whole farm analysis and management. Management objectives help plan the shape and arrangement of landscape features. In this paper we will discuss how the use and arrangement of woody landscape features will be included in the Healthy Farm Index. Four participating organic farms in eastern Nebraska provide examples of the influence of woody land cover on the index scores. The structure of the index allows for the integration of current and future components. The index will be a mechanism for communicating interdisciplinary data toward farm practices and policy that optimize food production, biodiversity, and ecosystem services.James R. Brandle (1), Ron. J. Johnson (2), and John E. Quinn (1) ; 1. School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, NE. 2. Department of Forestry & Natural Resources, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.Includes bibliographical references

Rodent-Agriculture Interactions in No-Tillage Crop Fields

Acreage in reduced- and no-tillage farming systems has increased markedly in recent years, a trend that is expected to continue. However, small rodent populations thrive in these fields and at times dig and consume newly planted seeds and seedlings. During 1983, no-tillage corn, wheat and grain sorghum fields in western (Red Willow Co.) and eastern (Saline and Jefferson Cos.) Nebraska were evaluated to determine the distribution and food habits of the rodent species present, the damage to crops, and the availability of alternate rodent food sources. During June (post-emergence) and August (maximum corn height), 676 rodents were captured in 11 corn fields, and during July, 105 rodents were captured in 2 wheat and 2 sorghum fields. Species captured included thirteen-lined ground squirrels (spermophilusilus tr decemlineatus), Ord\u27s kangaroo rats (Diopodomys ordii), deer mice (Peromysous m a niculatus), ndT-thern grasshopper mice (onychomys leucogaster), voles (Microtus spp.), hispid pocket mice (Pero nathus hispidus) western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys to megalotis), house mice (M= musculus and short-tailed shrews (Blarina bre i auda). Rodents were distributed throughout study fields although the sample size of several species was not great enough to determine patterns

Relationship between cardiovascular risk and lipid testing in one health care system: a retrospective cohort study.

BackgroundThe US Preventive Services Taskforce (USPSTF) recommends routine lipid screening beginning age 35 for men [1]. For women age 20 and older, as well as men age 20-34, screening is recommended if cardiovascular risk factors are present. Prior research has focused on underutilization but not overuse of lipid testing. The objective is to document over- and under-use of lipid testing in an insured population of persons at low, moderate and high cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk for persons not already on statins.MethodsThe study is a retrospective cohort study that included all adults without prior CVD who were continuously enrolled in a large integrated healthcare system from 2005 to 2010. Measures included lipid test frequency extracted from administrative data and Framingham cardiovascular risk equations applied using electronic medical record data. Five year lipid testing patterns were examined by age, sex and CVD risk. Generalized linear models were used to estimate the relative risk for over testing associated with patient characteristics.ResultsAmong males and females for whom testing is not recommended, 35.8 % and 61.5 % received at least one lipid test in the prior 5 years and 8.4 % and 24.4 % had two or more. Over-testing was associated with age, race, comorbidity, primary care use and neighborhood income. Among individuals at moderate and high-risk (not already treated with statins) and for whom screening is recommended, between 21.4 % and 25.1 % of individuals received no screening in the prior 5 years.ConclusionsBased on USPSTF lipid screening recommendations, this study documents substantial over-testing among individuals with low CVD risk and under-testing among individuals with moderate to high-risk not already on statins. Opportunity exists to better focus lipid screening efforts appropriate to CVD risk