Communicating research with the public : evaluation of an invasive earthworm education program

Ecologists are increasingly encouraged by funding agencies and professional societies to communicate their research with the public. However, most receive relatively little training in how to do this effectively. Furthermore, evaluation of whether such an investment by ecologists actually achieves conservation objectives is rare. We created an education program, involving print, television, radio, and internet media, to increase awareness about earthworm invasions and to discourage anglers from dumping earthworm bait. Using pre- and post-surveys, we evaluated our program’s success in reaching its target audience and in changing knowledge and behavior. Few participants (4.1%) recalled seeing the program material and knowledge of the fact that earthworms are non-native in Alberta remained low (15.8% before, 15.1% after). Further, after being told about the negative effects of earthworms in forests, 46.7% of the anglers surveyed stated they would not change their bait disposal behavior in the future, with many commenting that they did not believe earthworms could be harmful. These results highlight the importance of evaluating education programs, rather than assuming they are successful. Given many participants' doubts that earthworms have negative effects, both regulations and education may be needed to reduce earthworm introductions

Geology and Ground-water Resources of Brown County, Kansas

Brown County is in the northern tier of counties in the State and is the second county west of the east border. It has an area of 576 square miles. It is in the Dissected Till Plains section of the Central Lowlands Province. The annual long-term mean precipitation is 34.20 inches, and the mean annual temperature is 53.3° F. Agriculture is the principal source of income in the county. Rocks that underlie but do not crop out in the county range in age from Precambrian to Pennsylvanian (Virgilian). Rocks that crop out in the county range in age from Pennsylvanian to Permian. Cenozoic rocks consist of glacial till of Kansan age and loess of Wisconsinan and Illinoisan(?) ages. Fluvial deposits of Wisconsinan and Recent ages occur in the major valleys. The county lies in the Forest City Basin, which was a part of the North Kansas Basin prior to elevation of the Nemaha Anticline during Mississippian time. Ground water is the principal source of water in the county; Horton is the only city that obtains its water supply from surface water. Glacial drift is the principal source of ground water in the area. Yields ranging up to 450 gpm (gallons per minute) are obtained from the glacial drift, but yields of less than 100 gpm are more common. Rocks of the Council Grove Group in northwestern Brown County yield as much as 250 gpm. Pennsylvanian sandstones in eastern Brown County yield small quantities of water. Generally less than 20 gpm of water are obtained from fluvial deposits in the major stream valleys. Nearly all ground water in the area contains enough dissolved mineral matter to be considered hard. Chloride concentrations are not high at depths ordinarily reached by wells, but at greater depths they are present in high concentrations. Nitrate concentrations are higher in many wells than the recommended standards

Geology and Ground-water Resources of Brown County, Kansas

Brown County is in the northern tier of counties in the State and is the second county west of the east border. It has an area of 576 square miles. It is in the Dissected Till Plains section of the Central Lowlands Province. The annual long-term mean precipitation is 34.20 inches, and the mean annual temperature is 53.3° F. Agriculture is the principal source of income in the county. Rocks that underlie but do not crop out in the county range in age from Precambrian to Pennsylvanian (Virgilian). Rocks that crop out in the county range in age from Pennsylvanian to Permian. Cenozoic rocks consist of glacial till of Kansan age and loess of Wisconsinan and Illinoisan(?) ages. Fluvial deposits of Wisconsinan and Recent ages occur in the major valleys. The county lies in the Forest City Basin, which was a part of the North Kansas Basin prior to elevation of the Nemaha Anticline during Mississippian time. Ground water is the principal source of water in the county; Horton is the only city that obtains its water supply from surface water. Glacial drift is the principal source of ground water in the area. Yields ranging up to 450 gpm (gallons per minute) are obtained from the glacial drift, but yields of less than 100 gpm are more common. Rocks of the Council Grove Group in northwestern Brown County yield as much as 250 gpm. Pennsylvanian sandstones in eastern Brown County yield small quantities of water. Generally less than 20 gpm of water are obtained from fluvial deposits in the major stream valleys. Nearly all ground water in the area contains enough dissolved mineral matter to be considered hard. Chloride concentrations are not high at depths ordinarily reached by wells, but at greater depths they are present in high concentrations. Nitrate concentrations are higher in many wells than the recommended standards

Geology and Structure of Cheyenne Bottoms, Barton County, Kansas

Cheyenne Bottoms, in east-central Barton County, Kansas, is a basin-like feature, elliptical in shape, the origin of which has not been satisfactorily explained. Several hypotheses have been presented to explain the origin of the feature. Haworth (1897) was the first to write on the origin of Cheyenne Bottoms and attributed the feature to stream erosion. Johnson (1901) advanced the theory that Cheyenne Bottoms was a basin of subsidence caused by removal of soluble masses of salt within the underlying rock. He noted that the gap in the rock wall on the southeast side of the basin did not favor this theory of origin. Bass (1926) prepared a map of salt thickness in western Kansas that shows thinning of the salt beds beneath Cheyenne Bottoms. He (Bass, 1926) believed that this tended to confirm Johnson's theory of salt solution as the cause of the basin-like feature. Latta (1950) indicated that salt solution and subsidence may have been in part responsible for the feature, but also indicated that stream erosion during the Pleistocene played an important part in its origin and present configuration

Geology and Structure of Cheyenne Bottoms, Barton County, Kansas

Cheyenne Bottoms, in east-central Barton County, Kansas, is a basin-like feature, elliptical in shape, the origin of which has not been satisfactorily explained. Several hypotheses have been presented to explain the origin of the feature. Haworth (1897) was the first to write on the origin of Cheyenne Bottoms and attributed the feature to stream erosion. Johnson (1901) advanced the theory that Cheyenne Bottoms was a basin of subsidence caused by removal of soluble masses of salt within the underlying rock. He noted that the gap in the rock wall on the southeast side of the basin did not favor this theory of origin. Bass (1926) prepared a map of salt thickness in western Kansas that shows thinning of the salt beds beneath Cheyenne Bottoms. He (Bass, 1926) believed that this tended to confirm Johnson's theory of salt solution as the cause of the basin-like feature. Latta (1950) indicated that salt solution and subsidence may have been in part responsible for the feature, but also indicated that stream erosion during the Pleistocene played an important part in its origin and present configuration

Science as a service: understanding successful knowledge transfer in a New Zealand research institute

This paper reports on an exercise conducted within a state-owned body (Crown Research Institute) in New Zealand aimed at building greater understanding of the key factors in successful research programmes. Success was defined in this study as a high level of uptake of the emerging science, with commensurate benefits to both industry and the community. The methodology had three parts. A review of the knowledge and technology transfer literature; a series of 15 semi-structured interviews with science leaders; and a facilitated workshop. The purpose of the review was to generate a robust framework upon which to centre the interview dialogues, and two models were selected. The results varied, reflecting the diversity of research services provided by the organization, but the findings were predominantly new and valuable. The importance of the long term relationship with the end users was the strongest recurring theme. The methodology may have wider application in both research and consulting settings; for the benefits derived from the interactive process with staff, as well as for the specific findings

Investigation of the magnetic susceptibility and other physical properties of binary mixtures of organic liquids

The density, refractive index, magnetic susceptibility and viscosity of Aniline, three other substituted anilines and benzene, and of nine sets of binary mixtures made up from pairs of the five pure liquids have been measured at a temperature of 25?c, benzene being a component of all mixtures, and property composition curves have been constructed in each case. The results show that none of the mixtures is ideal. Deviations from the curve constructed from values calculated from the simple mixture law are shewn graphically for every property for each mixture examined, with the exception of magnetic susceptibility where the deviation was too irregular. It is noticed that the property viscosity gives deviation values which are distinctly greater than those of denisty and refractive index. The property magnetic susceptibility in the cases of Benzene-Aniline and Benzene Diethylaniline seems to give deviations which resemble those?of the property viscosity for these mixtures. In the case of Benzene and Monoethylan-ine the trend of the deviations does not seem marked enough to enable one to draw any conculsions from it. In the case of Benzene and Methylaniline, on the other hand, there is practically no deviation from the calculated values. Of the anilines used, the diethylaniline with Benzene gave the greatest deviation values for density and refractivity, but this mixture gave the lowest viscosity deviation value. The position of maximum deviation is similar in density and refractivity composition curves. The specific heat and heat of mixing curves were only completed for one set of mixtures as it proved a great difficulty to eliminate experimental error and the results were rather uncertain. In the case of heat of mixing the maximum seems to he nearer the benzene end of the series than the aniline end. The results indicate that co-ordination occurs at least to some extent between benzene and the anilines considered, on mixing, but that no definite compounds appear to have been formed.<p

The impact of environmental enrichment on the outcome variability and scientific validity of laboratory animal studies.

It has been widely accepted for some time that species-appropriate environmental enrichment is important for the welfare of research animals, but its impact on research data initially received little attention. This has now changed, as the use of enrichment as one element of routine husbandry has expanded. In addition to its use in the care of larger research animals, such as nonhuman primates, it is now being used to improve the environments of small research animals, such as rodents, which are used in significantly greater numbers and in a wide variety of studies. Concern has been expressed that enrichment negatively affects both experimental validity and reproducibility. However, when a concise definition of enrichment is used, with a sound understanding of the biology and behaviour of the animal as well as the research constraints, it becomes clear that the welfare of research animals can be enhanced through environmental enrichment without compromising their purpose. Indeed, it is shown that the converse is true: the provision of suitable enrichment enhances the well-being of the animal, thereby refining the animal model and improving the research data. Thus, the argument is made that both the validity and reproducibility of the research are enhanced when proper consideration is given to the research animal's living environment and the animal's opportunities to express species-typical behaviours