Logging Affects Fledgling Sex Ratios and Baseline Corticosterone in a Forest Songbird

Silviculture (logging) creates a disturbance to forested environments. The degree to which forests are modified depends on the logging prescription and forest stand characteristics. In this study we compared the effects of two methods of group-selection (“moderate” and “heavy”) silviculture (GSS) and undisturbed reference stands on stress and offspring sex ratios of a forest interior species, the Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), in Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada. Blood samples were taken from nestlings for corticosterone and molecular sexing. We found that logging creates a disturbance that is stressful for nestling Ovenbirds, as illustrated by elevated baseline corticosterone in cut sites. Ovenbirds nesting in undisturbed reference forest produce fewer male offspring per brood (proportion male = 30%) while logging with progressively greater forest disturbance, shifted the offspring sex ratio towards males (proportion male: moderate = 50%, heavy = 70%). If Ovenbirds in undisturbed forests usually produce female-biased broods, then the production of males as a result of logging may disrupt population viability. We recommend a broad examination of nestling sex ratios in response to anthropogenic disturbance to determine the generality of our findings

Police performance measurement: an annotated bibliography

This study provides information to assist those involved in performance measurement in police organisations. The strategies used to identify the literature are described. Thematic sections cover; general overviews; methodological issues; performance management in other industries; national, international and cross-national studies; frameworks (e.g. Compstat; the Balanced Scorecard); criticisms (particularly unintended consequences); crime-specific measures; practitioner guides; performance evaluation of individual staff; police department plans and evaluations; annotated bibliographies in related areas, and; other literature. Our discussion offers two conclusions: the measures best aligned with performance are typically more expensive, while most operational data should only provide contextual information; the philosophy of open governance should be pursued to promote transparency, accountability and communication to improve police performance

Stalking Strain, Concurrent Negative Emotions, and Legitimate Coping Strategies: A Preliminary Test of Gendered Strain Theory

Using data from the Supplemental Victimization Survey of the NCVS and relying on theoretical direction provided by Broidy and Agnew’s gendered strain theory, we examine gender differences in the concurrent emotional responses to a type of strain that has not been examined by GST researchers: stalking. In particular, we assess whether males and females experience similar levels of concurrent negative emotions and whether concurrent negative emotions are similarly associated with legitimate coping resources for males and females. We found the co-occurrence of emotions is more typical among females than males and the impact of concurrent emotions on the strain/non-crime relationship appear to affect females more than males. One notable finding that emerged from our results is that the co-occurrence of emotions can have both proscriptive and precipitating effects on legitimate outcomes. The implications of our findings for theorists and researchers are also discussed

Distribution and individual condition reveal a hierarchy of habitat suitability for an area-sensitive passerine

The identification of environmental factors linked to increased risk of local extinction often relies on inference from patterns of distribution. Yet for declining populations, the assumption of population equilibrium that underlies species distribution models is violated. Measures such as individual condition can provide a more direct indication of extinction risk, and can start to be detected before declines commence. We compared distribution-based and condition-based approaches to identifying factors affecting habitat suitability for an area-sensitive passerine, the eastern yellow robin Eopsaltria australis, in eastern Australia. We compared patterns of individual condition between robins and several common, more mobile species (Meliphagid honeyeaters and yellow thornbills Acanthiza nana). Robin presence was not affected by landscape context, but robins avoided sites with a more grassy ground layer. However, robins inhabiting landscapes with less remnant woodland had higher ratios of heterophils to lymphocytes in peripheral blood, indicating higher long-term stress. No clear spatial patterns of condition were detected for the more mobile species. Our findings suggest a hierarchical model of habitat suitability, whereby robins avoid grassy sites, but where they do occur are in poorest condition when inhabiting less-vegetated landscapes. We predict greater rates of local extinction of robins from such landscapes. The use of indicators of individual condition, in addition to distribution data, can unveil otherwise cryptic factors as important influences on habitat quality. As habitat occupancy does not always reflect habitat quality, exploring patterns in condition indices can complement species distribution modelling, potentially revealing threats to persistence before population declines have commenced

Keeping More Than Homes: A More Than Material Framework for Understanding and Intervening in Gentrifying Neighbourhoods

Amie Thurber, a scholar-practitioner working with small-scale neighbourhood geographies in the United States, also builds on the need to understand the participation and involvement of vulnerable, low-income residents in gentrifying neighbourhoods. Linking theoretical writings across disciplinary boundaries, encompassing political philosophy, geography and community psychology, Thurber analyses neighbourhood in terms of material, epistemic and affective dimensions. As well as offering a deeper understanding of the harms done by gentrification, the chapter proposes its ‘more than material’ conceptual framework as a means of imagining then enacting positive interventions to create spaces of resident representation, build relationships between neighbours and support participatory action