Evaluation of Bird Response to Propane Exploders in an Airport Environment

Bird-aircraft collisions (bird-strikes) cause serious safety hazards to aircraft, costing civilian aviation at least $496 million annually in the U.S. Non-lethal bird-frightening devices, such as propane exploders, are commonly used to deter birds from airport environments. We conducted a study during August - October 2004 to determine the efficacy of propane exploders utilized with and without concurrent lethal reinforcement activities for altering bird behavior at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York. Two groups of 8 propane exploders each were deployed on the airfield. One group of propane exploders was set to “off” (control), whereas the other group was programmed to activate at 15-minute intervals (treatment). This pattern was reversed each week for a 12-week period. In addition, lethal control activities to reduce gull-aircraft collisions were conducted during August and September 2004. We conducted bird observations associated with propane exploders during the lethal control program (8-week period) and following the end of the program (4-week period). The number of bird flocks (≥1 birds) that were within 150 m of treatment (n = 432) and control (n = 442) propane exploders was similar. Simultaneous lethal control activities at the airport did not alter the effectiveness of the propane exploders. Birds responded (e.g., altered flight path) on 3 of 21 (14.3%) occasions when a bird flock was within 150 m of a treatment propane exploder that activated. Our findings suggest propane exploders used in this manner in this airport environment do not significantly alter birds behavior or reduce the threat of bird-strikes. Future research is needed to evaluate techniques such as motion-activated propane exploders to enhance the effectiveness of this tool to reduce wildlife hazards at airports

Temporal Variation in Terrestrial Invertebrate Consumption by Laughing Gulls in New York

Laughing gulls (Larus atricilla) are commonly found in many areas of North America and little is known about their diet, particularly in coastal-urban interfaces where gull-aircraft collisions can be a serious concern. The objective of this study was to describe and quantify the consumption of terrestrial invertebrates by laughing gulls at a coastal-urban interface in the northeastern United States. We examined the stomach contents of laughing gulls (n = 1053) collected during wildlife damage management operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport during the summers of 2003 and 2004. Terrestrial invertebrates consumed by laughing gulls represented 2 taxonomic phyla, 4 classes, 15 orders and 40 families. Beetles (Coleoptera) and ants (Hymenoptera) were the most common terrestrial invertebrates consumed by laughing gulls. We found evidence of temporal (i.e., monthly) variation in the frequency of occurrence of terrestrial insects in laughing gull diets. Laughing gull gender and age did not influence the frequency of occurrence of terrestrial insects in gull diets. Terrestrial environments (e.g., areas of turfgrass) appear to provide important foraging locations and food resources for laughing gulls in coastal-urban areas. This information is important for developing effective management approaches to reduce human-gull conflicts, such as gull-aircraft collisions at coastal airports

Family and Consumer Sciences Focus on the Human Dimension: The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program Example

The history of family and consumer sciences (FCS) and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is discussed with an emphasis on the critical importance of the human dimension. EFNEP\u27s focus on people, education for change, accountability, strategic partnerships, and public value are highlighted as an example and model for Extension and FCS programs in general. Future FCS success and sustainability depends on ensuring continued attention to the human dimension, while also addressing workforce, societal, and technological developments.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/extension_pubs/1251/thumbnail.jp

Outgassing of Ordinary Chondritic Material and Some of its Implications for the Chemistry of Asteroids, Planets, and Satellites

We used chemical equilibrium calculations to model thermal outgassing of ordinary chondritic material as a function of temperature, pressure, and bulk compositions and use our results to discuss outgassing on asteroids and the early Earth. The calculations include ~1,000 solids and gases of the elements Al, C, Ca, Cl, Co, Cr, F, Fe, H, K, Mg, Mn, N, Na, Ni, O, P, S, Si, and Ti. The major outgassed volatiles from ordinary chondritic material are CH4, H2, H2O, N2, and NH3(the latter at conditions where hydrous minerals form). Contrary to widely held assumptions, CO is never the major C-bearing gas during ordinary chondrite metamorphism. The calculated oxygen fugacity (partial pressure) of ordinary chondritic material is close to that of the quartz-fayalite-iron (QFI) buffer. Our results are insensitive to variable total pressure, variable volatile element abundances, and kinetic inhibition of C and N dissolution in Fe metal. Our results predict that Earth's early atmosphere contained CH4, H2, H2O, N2, and NH3; similar to that used in Miller-Urey synthesis of organic compounds.Comment: 72 pages, 17 figures, 3 tables; submitted to Icaru

Family Favorites: Specific Roles of microRNA Sisters in Caenorhabditis elegans Aging

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are critical regulators of many different biological processes, including cellular differentiation, development, response to stress, and aging. These small (~22 nucleotides) RNA molecules, post-transcriptionally regulate their targets in a sequence dependent manner but to exert their regulatory influence, a miRNA must be bound by an Argonaute (AGO) protein. A critical factor in miRNA targeting is base-pairing of nucleotides 2-7 of the miRNA, the seed, to the target RNA. Due to the importance of the seed sequence in targeting, miRNAs who share their seed sequence are grouped into families. Yet, in Chapter 2, I review recent studies on non-canonical miRNA regulation, including miRNA targeting that is not seed dependent, such as the role of the miRNA’s 3’ end in targeting as well as miRNA overall expression. Thus, despite the importance of miRNAs, predicting the targets and biological roles is very challenging. This outstanding problem in determining miRNAs targets and function, is especially acute for miRNAs that belong to the same family. MiRNAs in the same family, because they share a seed sequence, are often presumed to be redundant. As reviewed in Chapter 4, I explore how the miR-238, miR-239a, and miR-239b family regulate aging in C. elegans. I find that these miRNAs have distinct roles in aging, that loss of miR-238 leads to a reduced lifespan and many genes misergulated in adult, while loss of either miR-239a or miR-239b has no effect lifespan and leads to the misregultion of only a handful of non-overlapping genes. Interestingly, miR-239a or miR-239b can rescue the loss of miR-238 when they expressed from the miR-238 genetic locus suggesting that expression, not sequence, underlies the differential roles of this miRNA family in C. elegans aging. In Chapter 3, I investigated how individual miRNAs contribute to the divergent roles of the somatic C. elegans miRNA AGOs, AGO-like-gene (ALG)-1 and ALG-2, in aging. I immunoprecipitated miRNAs bound by ALG-1 and ALG-2 and analyze miRNA misregulation upon the loss of these AGOs. Some of the miRNAs I identified as contributing to these phenotypes are already known regulators of aging while others may be novel aging regulators

Family Favorites: Specific Roles of microRNA Sisters in Caenorhabditis elegans Aging

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are critical regulators of many different biological processes, including cellular differentiation, development, response to stress, and aging. These small (~22 nucleotides) RNA molecules, post-transcriptionally regulate their targets in a sequence dependent manner but to exert their regulatory influence, a miRNA must be bound by an Argonaute (AGO) protein. A critical factor in miRNA targeting is base-pairing of nucleotides 2-7 of the miRNA, the seed, to the target RNA. Due to the importance of the seed sequence in targeting, miRNAs who share their seed sequence are grouped into families. Yet, in Chapter 2, I review recent studies on non-canonical miRNA regulation, including miRNA targeting that is not seed dependent, such as the role of the miRNA’s 3’ end in targeting as well as miRNA overall expression. Thus, despite the importance of miRNAs, predicting the targets and biological roles is very challenging. This outstanding problem in determining miRNAs targets and function, is especially acute for miRNAs that belong to the same family. MiRNAs in the same family, because they share a seed sequence, are often presumed to be redundant. As reviewed in Chapter 4, I explore how the miR-238, miR-239a, and miR-239b family regulate aging in C. elegans. I find that these miRNAs have distinct roles in aging, that loss of miR-238 leads to a reduced lifespan and many genes misergulated in adult, while loss of either miR-239a or miR-239b has no effect lifespan and leads to the misregultion of only a handful of non-overlapping genes. Interestingly, miR-239a or miR-239b can rescue the loss of miR-238 when they expressed from the miR-238 genetic locus suggesting that expression, not sequence, underlies the differential roles of this miRNA family in C. elegans aging. In Chapter 3, I investigated how individual miRNAs contribute to the divergent roles of the somatic C. elegans miRNA AGOs, AGO-like-gene (ALG)-1 and ALG-2, in aging. I immunoprecipitated miRNAs bound by ALG-1 and ALG-2 and analyze miRNA misregulation upon the loss of these AGOs. Some of the miRNAs I identified as contributing to these phenotypes are already known regulators of aging while others may be novel aging regulators

miRNA Targeting: Growing beyond the Seed

miRNAs are small RNAs that guide Argonaute proteins to specific target mRNAs to repress their translation and stability. Canonically, miRNA targeting is reliant on base pairing of the seed region, nucleotides 2-7, of the miRNA to sites in mRNA 3' untranslated regions. Recently, the 3' half of the miRNA has gained attention for newly appreciated roles in regulating target specificity and regulation. In addition, the extent of pairing to the miRNA 3' end can influence the stability of the miRNA itself. These findings highlight the importance of sequences beyond the seed in controlling the function and existence of miRNAs

Arthropods of a semi-natural grassland in an urban environment: the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York

Semi-natural grassland habitat fragments, such as those found on airports, might be important for arthropod conservation and biodiversity in urban ecosystems. The objectives of this study were to: (1) describe the arthropod communities present within the grasslands on the John F. Kennedy International Airport and (2) assess spatial and temporal variation in those arthropod communities. We collected arthropods using a vacuum sampler during 2003 and using sweep-net collection methods during 2003 and 2004. During 2003, a total of 1,467 arthropods, representing 17 orders and 68 families were found in vacuum samples. A total of 3,784 arthropods, representing 12 orders and 94 families were collected in sweep-net samples during 2003. In 2004, a total of 3,281 arthropods, representing 12 orders and 85 families were collected in sweepnet samples. Hemiptera, Orthoptera, and Diptera were the most abundant taxa, accounting for 47, 18, and 14% of all arthropods captured, respectively. We found evidence of spatial and temporal variation in arthropod abundance, in particular as noted by fluctuations in Orthoptera: Acrididae and Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha. Hemipteran family diversity was also influenced by habitat type. Grassland habitats on airfields, although influenced by anthropogenic factors (e.g., mowing), have the potential to provide abundant and diverse arthropod communities and might serve as a refugium for such species within urban ecosystems

FORAGING ECOLOGY OF FOUR GULL SPECIES AT A COASTAL–URBAN INTERFACE

Coastal urban environments provide a potentially diverse source of food for gulls, including items of marine, terrestrial, and anthropogenic origin. Our objective was to examine variation in the diet and use of feeding habitat of four species of gulls, the Laughing (Leucophaeus atricilla), Herring (Larus argentatus), Great Blackbacked (L. marinus), and Ring-billed (L. delawarensis), at a coastal–urban interface. We necropsied, identified the sex and age class, and quantified the stomach contents of 1053 Laughing, 249 Herring, 67 Great Black-backed, and 31 Ring-billed Gulls collected near the New York City metropolitan area in 2003 and 2004. Great Black-backed Gulls specialized on marine foods, whereas Ring-billed Gulls were generalists. Laughing Gulls and Herring Gulls favored marine foods and foraged in marine habitats but also used terrestrial and anthropogenic food sources. We found evidence that demographics influenced the gulls’ choice of diet and use of feeding habitat. Laughing Gulls and Herring Gulls switched their use of feeding habitats at various stages of breeding, exploiting terrestrial prey and feeding habitats most during chick rearing. Interspecific and intraspecific differences in the four species’ diet and use of feeding habitat apparently allow for their coexistence at this coastal–urban interface