Behavioral Research on Captive Animals: Scientific and Ethical Concerns

The first half of this chapter focuses exclusively on animals that are used in laboratory behavioral research to model wild behavior, what is typically involved, problems associated with this practice, and how behavioral research has revealed scientific problems in the animal model. The second half of this chapter then addresses the ethical questions of whether scientific curiosity of animal behavior in general provides any justification for carrying out this research in this first place, with specific focus on non-human primates (nhps)

Truth & Linguistic Structure: In Defence of a Structuralist Conception of Truth-Conditional Semantics

The principle aim of this thesis is to articulate and defend a novel conception of truth-conditional semantics (TCS): what I shall call the “structuralist conception”. According to this conception, the truth-conditions entailed by adequate TCS theories need not specify determinate ways the world might be and, therefore, need not fix the truth-values of their respective object-language sentences relative to contexts and world of evaluation. Rather, on the structuralist view, the purpose of a TCS theory is to recursively characterize the compositionally determined and linguistically licensed structural constraints on what can be said with our sentences. One major consequence of the structuralist conception of TCS, I shall argue, is that it is entirely compatible with even a radical form of the thesis of semantic underdetermination (SU): the thesis that some/most/all sentence-types lack linguistically licensed truth-values relative to contexts and worlds of evaluation. Thus, if it is possible to demonstrate that the structuralist conception offers both a plausible and useful conception of TCS, this will have the liberating TCS from the debate concerning the status of SU

Environmental, spatial and temporal drivers of plant community composition in British forest habitat

Broadleaved forest habitat is important for a number of ecosystem functions and as a refuge for many rare plant species in human-modified landscapes. It is however, threatened by global change drivers such as deforestation and the associated fragmentation of remaining habitat areas, along with increased disturbance and exposure to nutrient inputs from surrounding intensive agriculture. This thesis uses a unique combination of data on plant species occurrence, local environmental conditions and forest spatial extent in order to investigate the ways in which species richness and functional diversity in forest communities are dependent upon local and landscape scale drivers, and to quantify the strength of these relationships. This provides novel understanding of the response of forest plants with different life history traits to the configuration and quality of available habitat, and therefore the way in which understorey assemblages are likely to alter over time following landscape change. Results highlight the importance of local environmental conditions within forest patches but also suggest that patch area and landscape connectivity have an important effect on the trait composition of communities. Preserving large, well connected areas of habitat is therefore likely to be key for the conservation of many species, particularly rarer forest specialists which often possess traits linked to low dispersal ability. Furthermore, there is evidence that species are slow to respond to changes in the spatial extent of habitat. As such, considering the history of forest patches is necessary in order to explain present day patterns in plant species occurrence and to devise effective conservation measures. This highlights the need to integrate understanding of local and landscape scale processes with temporal data in order to properly understand the way in which forest communities are formed and to predict ongoing change under expected global change scenarios

How well is current plant trait composition predicted by modern and historical forest spatial configuration?

There is increasing evidence to suggest that a delayed response of many forest species to habitat loss and fragmentation leads to the development of extinction debts and immigration credits in affected forest habitat. These time lags result in plant communities which are not well predicted by present day landscape structure, reducing the accuracy of biodiversity assessments and predictions for future change. Here, species richness data and mean values for five life history characteristics within deciduous broadleaved forest habitat across Great Britain were used to quantify the degree to which aspects of present day forest plant composition are best explained by modern or historical forest patch area. Ancient forest specialist richness, mean rarity and mean seed terminal velocity were not well predicted by modern patch area, implying the existence of a degree of lag in British forest patches. Mean seedbank persistence values were more closely related to modern patch area than historical, particularly in larger patches. The variation in response for different mean trait values suggests that species respond to landscape change at different rates depending upon their combinations of different trait states. Current forest understorey communities are therefore likely to consist of a mixture of declining species whose extinction debt is still to be paid, and faster colonising immigrant species. These results indicate that without management action, rare and threatened species of plant are likely to be lost in the future as a result of changes in forest spatial configuration that have already taken place. The lag seen here for rare specialist plants suggests however that there may still be scope to protect such species before they are lost from forest patches

Traits of plant communities in fragmented forests: the relative influence of habitat spatial configuration and local abiotic conditions

1. The plant trait composition of forest fragments is thought to be partly determined by forest spatial properties, although the relative importance of habitat configuration and local abiotic drivers is poorly understood. 2. To address this issue, large-scale habitat extent data were combined with detailed field survey information for temperate broad-leaved deciduous forest patches to quantify the relative effects of spatial and abiotic filters on plant community mean trait values. 3. Local conditions such as shade and soil fertility had the largest effect on mean trait values, but aspects of habitat configuration also had significant partial effects on a number of traits. 4. Mean trait values within older forest patches were more strongly influenced by forest spatial configuration than in younger patches. 5. Synthesis. Results indicate that, in addition to the effects of greater light availability and competition in small patches and at forest edges, aspects of habitat configuration such as patch size and isolation are themselves important factors limiting the occurrence of forest specialist species. Large areas of core forest habitat contain a greater proportion of rare, poor dispersing species, although these effects were less visible in more recently established forest. This highlights the importance of maintaining existing large and old forest patches as a refuge for forest specialist plants. The results of this comparison of spatial and abiotic variables suggest that controlling the spatial properties of forest patches is likely to prove an effective way of managing plant species diversity, provided that sites with appropriate abiotic conditions are chosen

Transition in Occupations of Refugees During Resettlement

Purpose: In 2016, there were 22.5 million refugees worldwide (UNHCR, 2017). California resettled just over 5,000 of those 85,000 (Igielnik & Krogstad, 2017). Limited research has been conducted in the United States (U.S.) focusing on the refugee experience; furthermore, there is a significant gap in research regarding the impact of the refugee experience on the occupations of refugees as they transition to living in the U.S. Smith (2012) explored the adaptation of cultural weaving among Karen refugees to maintain their previous occupations and the impact of daily weaving on their lives within Western culture; however, the study focused only on work occupations. This study sought to capture the experience of refugees and the impact of their transition on a broad array of occupations. Adding to occupational science literature regarding the occupational impact of the refugee experience, as well as aiding in addressing issues of occupational justice (Townsend, & Wilcock, 2004). Methods: This research was a qualitative-descriptive, phenomenological study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Questions were guided by Person-Environment-Occupation model (Law, et al., 1996) and Transitions Theory (Blair, 2000), to address personal and cultural values, environments where occupations are performed, and occupational patterns to identify changes in meaningful occupations due to the refugee process. Participants have legal status as refugees, have been in the U.S. between one and five years, resettled in Northern California, are at least 18 years old and were not required to speak English. As this study aimed to capture a broad experience of transition and limit confounding factors influencing how the participant responded to changes in occupations, participants could be of any ethnicity, country of origin, or gender. Two participants were recruited through snowball sampling. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed. Interviews were coded using Thematic Analysis to generate common themes across cases (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Rigor was strengthened through member checks and peer review. Findings: Through analysis of the interviews, the researchers found five major themes: contextual barriers, internal factors, adaptation, belonging, and transition. The first four themes form a loop and influence each other both positively and negatively and, ultimately, affect engagement in occupations. Transition is the theme that envelops and influences the whole. Using these five themes, the researchers developed the Transition-related Effects on Refugee Occupations (TERO) Model. Key findings include that refugees may experience more meaning and role change/loss in their occupations, rather than adoption of new occupations. Additionally, the researchers found social network to be important for positive occupational engagement throughout country transition. Implications: As occupational therapists, the tendency towards working with refugee populations may be to focus on their transitions to new occupations. However, data from this study indicates that it may be more pertinent to address role and meaning change/loss in current occupations

Transition in Occupations of Refugees During Resettlement

Background: Human displacement is a social problem that has occupational implications. There is a significant gap in the research focusing on the refugee experience and the impact of this experience on their occupations as they transition to living in the US. This study seeks to capture the experience of refugees and the impact of this transition to the US on a broad array of occupations. Method: This research is a qualitative study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with two participants who have legal status as refugees living in the US. Results: Thematic analysis generated three themes: (a) contextual barriers to occupation, (b) belonging, and (c) adaptation. Refugees experienced a variety of contextual barriers, both systemic and socio-cultural, that impacted their ability to engage in meaningful occupation leading to a lack of belonging. Refugees adapted to these barriers by adapting their occupations. In addition, the researchers found social networks to be important for positive occupational engagement throughout country transition. Conclusion: This research adds to occupational science literature regarding the occupational impact of the refugee experience, as well as supporting occupational therapists to address issues of occupational deprivation with refugee populations

Transition in Occupations of Refugees During Resettlement

Purpose: In 2016, there were 22.5 million refugees worldwide (UNHCR, 2017). California resettled just over 5,000 of those 85,000 (Igielnik & Krogstad, 2017). Limited research has been conducted in the United States (U.S.) focusing on the refugee experience; furthermore, there is a significant gap in research regarding the impact of the refugee experience on the occupations of refugees as they transition to living in the U.S. Smith (2012) explored the adaptation of cultural weaving among Karen refugees to maintain their previous occupations and the impact of daily weaving on their lives within Western culture; however, the study focused only on work occupations. This study sought to capture the experience of refugees and the impact of their transition on a broad array of occupations. Adding to occupational science literature regarding the occupational impact of the refugee experience, as well as aiding in addressing issues of occupational justice (Townsend, & Wilcock, 2004). Methods: This research was a qualitative-descriptive, phenomenological study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Questions were guided by Person-Environment-Occupation model (Law, et al., 1996) and Transitions Theory (Blair, 2000), to address personal and cultural values, environments where occupations are performed, and occupational patterns to identify changes in meaningful occupations due to the refugee process. Participants have legal status as refugees, have been in the U.S. between one and five years, resettled in Northern California, are at least 18 years old and were not required to speak English. As this study aimed to capture a broad experience of transition and limit confounding factors influencing how the participant responded to changes in occupations, participants could be of any ethnicity, country of origin, or gender. Two participants were recruited through snowball sampling. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed. Interviews were coded using Thematic Analysis to generate common themes across cases (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Rigor was strengthened through member checks and peer review. Findings: Through analysis of the interviews, the researchers found five major themes: contextual barriers, internal factors, adaptation, belonging, and transition. The first four themes form a loop and influence each other both positively and negatively and, ultimately, affect engagement in occupations. Transition is the theme that envelops and influences the whole. Using these five themes, the researchers developed the Transition-related Effects on Refugee Occupations (TERO) Model. Key findings include that refugees may experience more meaning and role change/loss in their occupations, rather than adoption of new occupations. Additionally, the researchers found social network to be important for positive occupational engagement throughout country transition. Implications: As occupational therapists, the tendency towards working with refugee populations may be to focus on their transitions to new occupations. However, data from this study indicates that it may be more pertinent to address role and meaning change/loss in current occupations.https://scholar.dominican.edu/ug-student-posters/1082/thumbnail.jp

Super-regional land-use change and effects on the grassland specialist flora

Habitat loss through land-use change is the most pressing threat to biodiversity worldwide. European semi-natural grasslands have suffered an ongoing decline since the early twentieth century, but we have limited knowledge of how grassland loss has affected biodiversity across large spatial scales. We quantify land-use change over 50-70 years across a 175,000 km(2) super-region in southern Sweden, identifying a widespread loss of open cover and a homogenisation of landscape structure, although these patterns vary considerably depending on the historical composition of the landscape. Analysing species inventories from 46,796 semi-natural grasslands, our results indicate that habitat loss and degradation have resulted in a decline in grassland specialist plant species. Local factors are the best predictors of specialist richness, but the historical landscape predicts present-day richness better than the contemporary landscape. This supports the widespread existence of time-lagged biodiversity responses, indicating that further species losses could occur in the future

Quantifying the impact of an extreme climate event on species diversity in fragmented temperate forests: the effect of the October 1987 storm on British broadleaved woodlands

1. We report the impact of an extreme weather event, the October 1987 severe storm, on fragmented woodlands in southern Britain. We analysed ecological changes between 1971 and 2002 in 143 200-m2 plots in 10 woodland sites exposed to the storm with an ecologically equivalent sample of 150 plots in 16 non-exposed sites. In both years, understorey species-richness, species composition, soil pH and woody basal area of the tree and shrub canopy were measured. 2. We tested the hypothesis that the storm had deflected sites from the wider national trajectory of an increase in woody basal area and reduced understorey species-richness associated with ageing canopies and declining woodland management. We also expected storm disturbance to amplify the background trend of increasing soil pH, a UK-wide response to reduced atmospheric sulphur deposition. Path analysis was used to quantify indirect effects of storm exposure on understorey species richness via changes in woody basal area and soil pH. 3. By 2002, storm exposure was estimated to have increased mean species richness per 200 m2 by 32%. Woody basal area changes were highly variable and did not significantly differ with storm exposure. 4. Increasing soil pH was associated with a 7% increase in richness. There was no evidence that soil pH increased more as a function of storm exposure. Changes in species richness and basal area were negatively correlated: a 3.4% decrease in richness occurred for every 0.1-m2 increase in woody basal area per plot. 5. Despite all sites substantially exceeding the empirical critical load for nitrogen deposition, there was no evidence that in the 15 years since the storm, disturbance had triggered a eutrophication effect associated with dominance of gaps by nitrophilous species. 6. Synthesis: Although the impacts of the 1987 storm were spatially variable in terms of impacts on woody basal area, the storm had a positive effect on understorey species richness. There was no evidence that disturbance had increased dominance of gaps by invasive species. This could change if recovery from acidification results in a soil pH regime associated with greater macronutrient availability