656 research outputs found
Potential Impacts of Energy Development on Shrublands in Western North America
Impending rapid development of the abundant energy resources found in western North America may have dramatic consequences for its terrestrial ecosystems. We used lease and license data to provide an approximate estimate of direct and indirect potential impacts from renewable and non-renewable energy development on each of five major terrestrial ecosystems and completed more detailed analyses for shrubland ecosystems. We found that energy development could impact up to 21 percent (96 million ha) of the five major ecosystems in western North America. The highest overall predicted impacts as a percent of the ecosystem type are to boreal forest (23-32 percent), shrublands (6-24 percent), and grasslands (9-21 percent). In absolute terms, the largest potential impacts are to shrublands (9.9 to 41.1 million ha). Oil, gas, wind, solar, and geothermal development each have their greatest potential impacts on shrublands. The impacts to shrublands occur in all ecological regions across western North America, but potential impacts are greatest in the North American Deserts (up to 27 percent or 25.8 million ha), Great Plains (up to 24 percent or 8.9 million ha), and Northern Forests (up to 47 percent or 4.3 million ha). Conventional oil and gas development accounts for the largest proportion of the potential impact in all three of these regions. Some states or provinces may experience particularly large impacts to shrublands, including Alberta and Wyoming, where potential for oil and gas development is especially high, and New Mexico, where solar development could potentially affect large areas of shrubland. Understanding the scale of anticipated impacts to these ecosystems through this type of coarse-scale analysis may help to catalyze policy makers to engage in proactive planning
Entwicklung eines Agrobacterium tumefaciens vermittelten Gentransfersystems für Kichererbsen (Cicer arietinum L.) : Grundlagen zur gentechnischen Resistenzvermittlung gegenüber Ascochyta rabiei
[no abstract
Development by Design: Mitigating Wind Development's Impacts on Wildlife in Kansas
Wind energy, if improperly sited, can impact wildlife through direct mortality and habitat loss and fragmentation, in contrast to its environmental benefits in the areas of greenhouse gas, air quality, and water quality. Fortunately, risks to wildlife from wind energy may be alleviated through proper siting and mitigation offsets. Here we identify areas in Kansas where wind development is incompatible with conservation, areas where wind development may proceed but with compensatory mitigation for impacts, and areas where development could proceed without the need for compensatory mitigation. We demonstrate that approximately 10.3 million ha in Kansas (48 percent of the state) has the potential to provide 478 GW of installed capacity while still meeting conservation goals. Of this total, approximately 2.7 million ha would require no compensatory mitigation and could produce up to 125 GW of installed capacity. This is 1,648 percent higher than the level of wind development needed in Kansas by 2030 if the United States is to get 20 percent of its electricity from wind. Projects that avoid and offset impacts consistent with this analysis could be awarded “Green Certification.” Certification may help to expand and sustain the wind industry by facilitating the completion of individual projects sited to avoid sensitive areas and protecting the industry's reputation as an ecologically friendly source of electricity
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The effects of pathogens, UV-B radiation, and introduced species on amphibians in the Pacific Northwest
I examined two amphibian communities to assess factors
that may impact amphibian biodiversity. The results suggest
that the potential factors which influence the maintenance
of amphibian biodiversity are multi-faceted and thus,
attempts to understand these factors must reflect these
complexities.
I investigated factors that influenced the susceptibility
of western toad (Bufo boreas), Cascades frog (Rana
cascadae), and Pacific treefrog (Hyla regilla) embryos to
infection with the fungal pathogen Saprolegnia ferax. I
found that there were considerable interspecific differences
in susceptibility of anuran embryos to infection with
Saprolegnia. Interspecific differences can be attributed to
differences in egg-laying behavior and sensitivity to
ambient levels of ultraviolet radiation.
I studied the effect of Saprolegnia on competitive
interactions between larval R. cascadae and H. regilla. The
presence of Saprolegnia differentially affected larval
recruitment of the two species and mediated competitive
interactions. These results suggest that pathogens may have
strong effects on species interactions and thus, when
present may have strong influences on community composition.
I examined population differences in response of native
red-legged frogs (R. aurora) to introduced bullfrogs (R.
catesbeiana). Syntopic R. aurora tadpoles reduced their
activity and increased their refuge-use when presented with
the chemical cues of R. catesbeiana, whereas allotopic R.
aurora did not. Predation by R. catesbeiana was lower for
syntopic R. aurora compared with animals from allotopic
populations. Individuals that are unfamiliar with novel,
introduced organisms may not possess adaptations that would
prevent a negative encounter. In field experiments I
demonstrated that introduced R. catesbeiana, and smallmouth
bass Micropterus dolomieui, influenced the microhabitat use,
growth, and survival of larval and metamorphic R. aurora.
These results illustrate the potential complexities of
interactions between native and exotic species. These
results also stress the importance of understanding the
mechanisms of interactions between native and exotic species
to allow for the persistence of native biodiversity
Error in statistical tests of error in statistical tests
BACKGROUND: A recent paper found that terminal digits of statistical values in Nature deviated significantly from an equiprobable distribution, indicating errors or inconsistencies in rounding. This finding, as well as the discovery that a large percentage of p values were inconsistent with reported test statistics, led to a great deal of concern in the popular press and scientific community. The findings ultimately led to new guidelines for all Nature Research Journals. METHODS: We checked the statistical analysis behind the original paper's tests of equiprobability. RESULTS: The original paper tested equiprobability with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test outside its regime of validity. Correct tests find no statistically significant deviations from equiprobability for the statistical values in Nature. CONCLUSION: Statistical tests should be used correctly
Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation on Amphibians: Field Experiments
Numerous reports suggest that populations of amphibians from a wide variety of locations are experiencing population declines and/or range reductions. In some cases, unusually high egg mortality has been reported. Field experiments have been used with increasing frequency to investigate ultraviolet radiation as one of the potential factors contributing to these declines. Results from field experiments illustrate that hatching success of eggs is hampered by ultraviolet radiation in a number of species, while other species appear to be unaffected. Continued mortality in early life-history stages may ultimately contribute to a population decline. Although UV-B radiation may not contribute to the population declines of all species, it may play a role in the population decline of some species, especially those that lay eggs in open shallow water subjected to solar radiation and in those that have a poor ability to repair UV-induced DNA damage.Peer reviewe
Win-Win for Wind and Wildlife: A Vision to Facilitate Sustainable Development
Wind energy offers the potential to reduce carbon emissions while increasing energy independence and bolstering economic development. However, wind energy has a larger land footprint per Gigawatt (GW) than most other forms of energy production, making appropriate siting and mitigation particularly important. Species that require large unfragmented habitats and those known to avoid vertical structures are particularly at risk from wind development. Developing energy on disturbed lands rather than placing new developments within large and intact habitats would reduce cumulative impacts to wildlife. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that it will take 241 GW of terrestrial based wind development on approximately 5 million hectares to reach 20% electricity production for the U.S. by 2030. We estimate there are ∼7,700 GW of potential wind energy available across the U.S., with ∼3,500 GW on disturbed lands. In addition, a disturbance-focused development strategy would avert the development of ∼2.3 million hectares of undisturbed lands while generating the same amount of energy as development based solely on maximizing wind potential. Wind subsidies targeted at favoring low-impact developments and creating avoidance and mitigation requirements that raise the costs for projects impacting sensitive lands could improve public value for both wind energy and biodiversity conservation
807-2 Selective inhibition of human cardiac Kir2.2 inward rectifier channels by adrenergic alpha-1a receptors
Atmospheric Consequences of Cosmic Ray Variability in the Extragalactic Shock Model II: Revised ionization levels and their consequences
It has been suggested that galactic shock asymmetry induced by our galaxy's
infall toward the Virgo Cluster may be a source of periodicity in cosmic ray
exposure as the solar system oscillates perpendicular to the galactic plane.
Here we investigate a mechanism by which cosmic rays might affect terrestrial
biodiversity, ionization and dissociation in the atmosphere, resulting in
depletion of ozone and a resulting increase in the dangerous solar UVB flux on
the ground, with an improved ionization background computation averaged over a
massive ensemble (about 7 x 10^5) shower simulations. We study minimal and full
exposure to the postulated extragalactic background. The atmospheric effects
are greater than with our earlier, simplified ionization model. At the lower
end of the range effects are too small to be of serious consequence. At the
upper end of the range, ~6 % global average loss of ozone column density
exceeds that currently experienced due to effects such as accumulated
chlorofluorocarbons. The intensity is less than a nearby supernova or galactic
gamma-ray burst, but the duration would be about 10^6 times longer. Present UVB
enhancement from current ozone depletion ~3% is a documented stress on the
biosphere, but a depletion of the magnitude found at the upper end of our range
would double the global average UVB flux. For estimates at the upper end of the
range of the cosmic ray variability over geologic time, the mechanism of
atmospheric ozone depletion may provide a major biological stress, which could
easily bring about major loss of biodiversity. Future high energy astrophysical
observations will resolve the question of whether such depletion is likely.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Journal of Geophysical
Research--Planets. This is an update and replacement for our 2008 paper, with
a much more extensive simulation of air shower ionization. Ionization effects
and ozone depletion are somewhat large
Policy development for environmental licensing and biodiversity offsets in Latin America
Attempts to meet biodiversity goals through application of the mitigation hierarchy have gained wide traction globally with
increased development of public policy, lending standards, and corporate practices. With interest in biodiversity offsets
increasing in Latin America, we seek to strengthen the basis for policy development through a review of major
environmental licensing policy frameworks in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. Here we
focused our review on an examination of national level policies to evaluate to which degree current provisions promote
positive environmental outcomes. All the surveyed countries have national-level Environmental Impact Assessment laws or
regulations that cover the habitats present in their territories. Although most countries enable the use of offsets only Brazil,
Colombia, Mexico and Peru explicitly require their implementation. Our review has shown that while advancing quite
detailed offset policies, most countries do not seem to have strong requirements regarding impact avoidance. Despite this
deficiency most countries have a strong foundation from which to develop policy for biodiversity offsets, but several issues
require further guidance, including how best to: (1) ensure conformance with the mitigation hierarchy; (2) identify the most
environmentally preferable offsets within a landscape context; (3) determine appropriate mitigation replacement ratios; and
(4) ensure appropriate time and effort is given to monitor offset performance
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