900 research outputs found
Interspecific Competition Affects Avian Personality, Assortative Mating, and Reproductive Success
Animal personality is thought to influence monogamous relationships by better allowing mates to coordinate territory defense and parental care behaviors. Aggressive territorial defense and boldness to potential predators are often important and ecologically relevant animal personality traits; however, the effects of heterogeneous social environments on the expression of assortative mating, personality, and behavioral syndromes are poorly understood. Eastern bluebirds are secondary cavity nesting birds that are facing a changing social environment in western NC. Tree swallows are expanding their range southward and have been in the field site for < 40 years. Tree swallows are highly aggressive and compete with bluebirds for limited nesting cavities. This new selection pressure may interfere with otherwise adaptive personality traits. This thesis aims to understand the ways that interspecific competition with a highly aggressive species may shape individual behavior and affect reproductive success in cavity nesting birds. Here, I examined how interspecific competition with tree swallows affects the propensity of paired male and female Eastern bluebirds to mate assortatively for behavior and how that may affect reproductive success. Furthermore, I examined how interspecific competition may affect behavior in an attempt to understand how the environment plays a role in shaping animal personality and plasticity
Factors Contributing To The Recent Increase Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnoses
Over the past twenty years, the number of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses has steadily climbed. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 11% of American school-aged children and roughly 5% of American adults have ADHD (CDC, 2016; Manos, 2010). This literature review will investigate possible influences on the increasing rates of ADHD diagnoses. There are many different hypothesized etiologies for ADHD, but no one factor can be labeled as the exclusive cause of ADHD developing in children (DuPaul & Stoner, 2003). To date, researchers have not reached consensus on the etiology of the disorder, which may be a factor influencing the increased prevalence. Also, the diagnostic criteria have changed in various editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) (Mash & Wolfe, 2016). Several different mental health professionals are able to diagnose a person with ADHD, meaning that diagnostic practices and treatments are not uniform in the United States. (Smith, 2011). Lastly, the changing culture of the United States may indicate that societal influences have contributed to the increase in diagnoses of ADHD in America
Accounting For Heterogeneity In Behavioral Responses To Health-Risk Information Treatments
Traditional revealed and stated preference models consider a typical individual's behavioural responses to various policy-based information treatments. For some cost–benefit applications in which resource managers are concerned with responses from a representative individual, this is sufficient. However, as behavioural responses to information treatments can vary across respondents, we develop a latent class analysis with covariates to examine unobservedheterogeneity responses to health-risk information treatments. Results from a probabilistic model indicate that classes of consumers respond differently to the health-risk information treatments. Principally, we find that the media form of the information treatment is important, with raw consumer groups typically more responsive to a brochure information treatment, while cooked oyster consumers are more responsive to the same information in a video format. We also find that a proposed US Food and Drug Administration policy on processing all raw oysters before market has a greater effect on reducing demand for consumers of cooked oysters. However, with an associated price premium, all consumer classes reduce demand. Overall, the results suggest that future policy-based research could benefit from examining potential heterogeneity in individuals’ responses to risk information treatments in order to fully understand the efficacy of treatments on behaviour
Artificial Reef Attributes And The Relationship With Natural Reefs: Evidence From The Florida Keys
Natural or coral reefs represent extremely valuable ecosystems supporting an estimated 25 percent of all marine life, yet recent reports suggest that 75 percent of the world’s natural reefs are under threat from both natural and human stressors. In areas such as the Florida Keys that boasts an expansive mix of natural and artificial reefs, recreational diving on the system provides an important economic contribution to the local community but also potentially contributes to the stress of the existing natural reef system. We develop a revealed and stated preference modeling framework of diver behavior and find that deployment of an additional large ship reef increases overall diving activity but does not impact diving behavior on the natural reef system
The Effects Of Air Quality Regulations On The Location Decisions Of Pollution-Intensive Manufacturing Plants
This research examines the effects of the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments
(CAAA) on the location decisions of pollution-intensive manufacturing plants. We
develop a panel data set to analyze plant births of polluting manufacturers over time
as a function county-level attainment status of the federal standard for ozone pollution.
We find that more stringent county-level environmental regulations impact
pollution-intensive capital flows through deterring new plant births. We also find that
the impact of stricter regulations varies by pollution-intensity of manufacturers, with
results suggesting that federal guidelines have a greater impact on high pollution
intensive manufacturers than more moderate polluters
Using Revealed And Stated Preference Data To Estimate The Scope And Access Benefits Associated With Cave Diving
In a single-site travel cost model framework, revealed and stated preference data are jointly estimated to provide the first use-value estimate associated with recreational cave diving. Focusing on one of Florida's first magnitude springs, we estimate average per-person per-trip use values of approximately 1075. Further, in an investigation of potential site quality changes, we find that divers are sensitive to scope effects with an additional cave system increasing annual per-person use values by approximately 50 in per-person annual consumer surplus. Finally, three additional model specifications are estimated and indicate that divers use different travel cost preferences when assessing their revealed and stated preference trip counts but a single preference structure to evaluate site quality changes
Integrating Lidar, GIS And Hedonic Price Modeling To Measure Amenity Values In Urban Beach Residential Property Markets
Hedonic property price models have been used extensively in the economics literature to measure the value households place on locating properties close to a given resource, such as a beach, river, or lake. This proximity premium consists of two components. First, property owners derive benefit from living close to the resource for access purposes. Second, they also derive benefit from the view of the resource. Critical to the analyses is the identification and measurement of these two components. We augment previous research by providing more accurate and objective measures of access and view for urban beach residential properties. Using GIS, we calculate the distance from each property to the nearest designated public access point. Using lidar data, we calculate the ocean view from each property. These measures are then integrated into a hedonic property price model to disentangle and estimate households’ willingness to pay for beach access and view
Willingness To Pay For Soccer Player Development In The United States
American households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for soccer player development is measured using the contingent valuation method. Data are drawn from two national surveys administered before and after the 2014 World Cup event. Individuals are asked whether they perceive that additional funding for player development will improve the chances of the national team’s performance at the 2018 World Cup and whether they are willing to pay an annual household tax to fund the program. A bivariate probit model accounts for correlation between the two decisions. WTP estimates indicate that the intangible benefits of player development are roughly twice the cost
- …