58 research outputs found
Translocation of Threatened New Zealand Falcons to Vineyards Increases Nest Attendance, Brooding and Feeding Rates
Anthropogenic landscapes can be rich in resources, and may in some cases provide potential habitat for species whose natural habitat has declined. We used remote videography to assess whether reintroducing individuals of the threatened New Zealand falcon Falco novaeseelandiae into a highly modified agricultural habitat affected the feeding rates of breeding falcons or related breeding behavior such as nest attendance and brooding rates. Over 2,800 recording hours of footage were used to compare the behavior of falcons living in six natural nests (in unmanaged, hilly terrain between 4 km and 20 km from the nearest vineyard), with that of four breeding falcon pairs that had been transported into vineyards and nested within 500 m of the nearest vineyard. Falcons in vineyard nests had higher feeding rates, higher nest attendance, and higher brooding rates. As chick age increased, parents in vineyard nests fed chicks a greater amount of total prey and larger prey items on average than did parents in hill nests. Parents with larger broods brought in larger prey items and a greater total sum of prey biomass. Nevertheless, chicks in nests containing siblings received less daily biomass per individual than single chicks. Some of these results can be attributed to the supplementary feeding of falcons in vineyards. However, even after removing supplementary food from our analysis, falcons in vineyards still fed larger prey items to chicks than did parents in hill nests, suggesting that the anthropogenic habitat may be a viable source of quality food. Although agricultural regions globally are rarely associated with raptor conservation, these results suggest that translocating New Zealand falcons into vineyards has potential for the conservation of this species
The Effects of Experimentally Induced Rumination, Positive Reappraisal, Acceptance, and Distancing When Thinking About a Stressful Event on Affect States in Adolescents
The current study compares the effects of experimentally induced rumination, positive reappraisal, distancing, and acceptance on affect states in adolescents aged 13â18. Participants (Nâ=â160) were instructed to think about a recent stressful event. Next, they received specific instructions on how to think about that event in each condition. Manipulation checks revealed that the manipulations were successful, except for acceptance. The two most reported events were âa fightâ and âdeath of loved oneâ. Results showed that positive reappraisal (i.e., thinking about the benefits and personal growth) caused a significantly larger increase in positive affect and decrease in negative affect compared to rumination, distancing, and acceptance. Current findings implicate that positive reappraisal seems an adequate coping strategy in the short-term, and therefore could be applied in interventions for youth experiencing difficulties managing negative affect. Future research should focus on long-term effects of these cognitive strategies and on more intensive training of acceptance
Boost Campâ, a universal school-based transdiagnostic prevention program targeting adolescent emotion regulation; evaluating the effectiveness by a clustered RCT : a protocol paper
Abstract Background The transition from childhood into adolescence can be considered as a critical developmental period. Moreover, adolescence is associated with a decreased use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies and an increased use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies increasing the risk of emotional problems. Targeting emotion regulation is therefore seen as an innovative prevention approach. The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Boost camp, an innovative school-based prevention program targeting ER, on adolescentsâ emotion regulation skills and emotional wellbeing. Also secondary outcomes and possible moderators will be included. Methods The aim is to reach 300 adolescents (16 class groups, 6 schools) in their first year of high school. A clustered Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with two conditions, intervention (nâ=â150) and control (nâ=â150), will be set up. Adolescents in the intervention condition will receive 14 lessons over the course of 2Â days, followed by Booster sessions, and will be compared with adolescents in a non-intervention control group. The outcomes will be measured by self-report questionnaires at baseline, immediately after Boost camp, and at three and 6Â months follow-up. Discussion Data-collection is planned to be completed in May 2018. Data-analyses will be finished the end of 2018. The presented paper describes the Boost camp program and the clustered RCT design to evaluate its effectiveness. It is expected that Boost camp will have beneficial effects. If found effective, Boost camp will have the potential to increase adolescentâs ER and well-being, and reduce the risk to become adults in need. The trials is registered on the 13th of June 2017 in ISRCTN registry [ISRCTN68235634]
Biophilic architecture: a review of the rationale and outcomes
Contemporary cities have high stress levels, mental health issues, high crime levels and ill health, while the built environment shows increasing problems with urban heat island effects and air and water pollution. Emerging from these concerns is a new set of design principles and practices where nature needs to play a bigger part called âbiophilic architectureâ. This design approach asserts that humans have an innate connection with nature that can assist to make buildings and cities more effective human abodes. This paper examines the evidence for this innate human psychological and physiological link to nature and then assesses the emerging research supporting the multiple social, environmental and economic benefits of biophilic architecture
New Zealand falcon prey selection may not be driven by preference based on prey nutritional content
Little is known about how diurnal raptors, as apex predators, select their prey. It has been hypothesised
that they are opportunistic, taking prey according to availability, and that they select prey based on prey size. The
threatened New Zealand falcon or kÄrearea (Falco novaeseelandiae) is New Zealandâs only remaining endemic
bird of prey. A previous study on prey caught by kÄrearea during the breeding season suggested that introduced
avian prey were taken more often than expected, and endemic avian prey taken less often than expected, based
on their abundance. There is a growing interest in the role that nutrients play in prey selection by predators. We
used the nutritional geometry framework in a field study to determine the role that nutritional composition plays
in prey choice. We built on an existing dataset to assess whether prey selection by kÄrearea can be explained
based on prey body-mass, abundance, or nutritional characteristics. We determined the protein-to-lipid ratio and
ash content of individuals across 16 species of prey and potential prey, including both endemic and introduced
species, and modelled these against known prey consumption based on our earlier work. We found limited
evidence for selective predation based on nutrient balancing. Instead, the relative abundance of each species
in the surrounding habitat and the endemicity of each species were the most important predictors, with species
body-mass playing only a minor role in prey choice. To investigate the apparent selection for introduced over
endemic prey, future research could compare the behavioural adaptations of endemic birds against their natural
predator with behaviours of introduced birds
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