Nesting of Northern Bobwhites on Rangeland Versus Conservation Reserve Program Habitats in the Rolling Plains of Texas

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts account for about 1.7 million ha in Texas, and are often touted as habitat for upland game birds. We compared nest site locations, hatch rates, and arthropod abundance for northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) on CRP versus rangeland habitats at the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch (RPQRR), Fisher County, Texas from 2008 to 2011. Nest sites were monitored via radio-marked females. Simulated nests (n 1⁄4 144/yr) were used to evaluate hatch rates between the 2 habitat types. Arthropod abundance (as an indicator of brood habitat) was measured annually in August using sweep nets and pitfall traps. We documented 103 nest sites, 14% were in CRP while the remaining 86% were in rangeland; bobwhites neither selected nor avoided CRP as nesting habitat. ‘Survival’ of simulated nests (i.e., percent intact at 28 days exposure) across the 4 years averaged 63.2% for CRP and 74.4% on rangelands. Arthropod availability was greater in rangeland in 3 of the 4 years studied. CRP pastures dominated by kleingrass (Panicum coloratum) were used for nesting in proportion to their availability, but rangeland provided better brood habitat

CU Library-2-Bb

Cornell University Library and Cornell Information Technologies have completed two phases of integrating Library resources and services into Blackboard. In phase I we added links to the Library Gateway and the “Ask a Librarian service” to the main menu of Blackboard. We installed the RefWorks building block that allows BB users to link to specific RefWorks accounts. It also allows instructors to add links to existing RefWorks accounts in any of the Blackboard content areas. Librarians and CIT staff collaborated on teaching the Blackboard Getting Started workshops for instructors. Phase II involved the use of BB for managing all Library reserves. Faculty can make Library reserve staff course builders so they can add reserve material to an existing BB course. If an instructor is not using BB the Library will create a BB course and add the reserve material to it

The Devil Is in the Details: Managing the Growth of Streaming Media in Library Collections

With the advent of streaming music and video services, patrons have grown accustomed to accessing media on their computers and mobile devices. This method of consuming media has spread into the realm of libraries and includes less‐than‐mainstream content not available through Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu. Some vendors have addressed this growing demand by making their video content available for streaming through subscription databases or by renting and purchasing individual titles to be hosted on a server. Streaming video content not available through databases or purchasing and renting individual titles, usually involves acquiring the DVD, encoding it and hosting the file on a local server—a very labor‐intensive means to provide access. This paper examines current trends in streaming video, a detailed look at the locally encoded and hosted workflow at Columbia University Libraries, and best practices going forward

Evaluation of Survey Indices for Scaled Quail in West Texas

Wildlife biologists and land managers require information on population demographics to effectively plan harvest schedules and evaluate habitat modifications. Population indices can potentially provide an efficient way to gather reliable information on wildlife populations as long as they reflect population behavior. We evaluated the relationships among standard survey indices used to monitor scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) across 6 sites in west Texas from 2007 to 2010. We collected data on spring cock call counts, simulated nest survival, roadside counts, and helicopter counts. The mean difference between methods was 2.4 quail/1.6 km on the Andrews County sites, and 4 quail/1.6 km at the Upton/Reagan County sites. Roadside counts and helicopter counts had similar numerical trends in relative abundance with a correlation coefficient of (0.67). Simulated nest fate (i.e., dummy nests) tended to track trends in population abundance. Our survey indices also followed annual fluctuations in scaled quail abundance as estimated from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s annual roadside surveys

A three-year longitudinal study of retinal function and structure in patients with multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND Researchers have in recent years begun to investigate ophthalmological manifestations of multiple sclerosis (MS) other than optic neuritis (ON), and it is now clear that changes to retinal function (measured using the electroretinogram, ERG) and structure (measured using optical coherence tomography, OCT) are found in MS patients irrespective of prior ON episodes. ERG results are consistent with dysfunctional bipolar cells, as in other autoimmune diseases. To date, studies have presented only cross-sectional data regarding ERG and OCT. We, therefore, studied the longitudinal course of ERG and OCT in patients with MS, as well as the effect of disability changes and non-ON clinical relapses on these functional and structural measures. METHODS MS patients (n = 23) participating in an ongoing longitudinal observational study were invited to take part in a 3-year ophthalmological substudy. ERG and OCT were performed, and measures of MS-related disability and relapse history were obtained. Study visits were repeated annually. ERG peak times, rod b-wave amplitude, mixed rod/cone and cone b-/a-wave amplitude ratios, thickness of the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer, and volumes of the segmented retinal layers/complexes were analysed. Using generalised estimating equation models adjusted for age, ON, and MS treatment status, we assessed changes to ERG and OCT over the study duration, the effect of changes in disability and recent non-ON MS relapses on ERG and OCT, and the effect of selected OCT parameters on corresponding ERG parameters. RESULTS At the group level, small fluctuations of several ERG peak times were recorded, with OCT values remaining stable. Increased disability between visits was associated with significant prolongation of mixed rod-cone ERG b-wave peak times. No evidence of associations between OCT and ERG parameters was observed. CONCLUSIONS Retinal bipolar cell function may be affected by changes in disability in patients with MS; however, recent non-ON MS clinical relapses appear not to affect ERG or OCT results. As ERG changes in MS patients over 3 years are likely to be small and of uncertain clinical relevance, longitudinal studies of retinal function in MS should be planned over an extended period