Improving reintroduction success in large carnivores through individual-based modelling: How to reintroduce Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) to Scotland

Globally, large carnivores have been heavily affected by habitat loss, fragmentation and persecution, sometimes resulting in local extinctions. With increasing recognition of top-down trophic cascades and complex predator- prey dynamics, reintroductions are of growing interest for restoration of ecosystem functioning. Many re- introductions have however failed, in part due to poor planning and inability to model complex eco-evolutionary processes to give reliable predictions. Using the case study of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), a large predator being considered for reintroduction to Scotland, we demonstrate how an individual-based model that integrates demography with three distinct phases of dispersal (emigration, transfer and settlement) can be used to explore the relative suitability of three geographically-distant potential reintroduction sites, multi-site reintroductions and two founding population sizes. For a single-site reintroduction of 10 lynx, our simulation results show a clear hierarchy of suitability across all metrics. Reintroduction in the Kintyre Peninsula (west coast) consistently performed best, with a probability of population persistence at year 100 of 83%, and the Scottish component of Kielder Forest (southern Scotland) worst, with only a 21% chance of population persistence to year 100. Simultaneous two-site reintroduction in the Kintyre Peninsula and in Aberdeenshire (near the east coast) of 32 lynx gave a 96% persistence at 100 years. Our model was highly sensitive to survival, particularly of adults, highlighting this parameter's importance for reintroduction success. The results strongly indicate the potential viability of Eurasian lynx reintroduction to Scotland given the current cover of suitable woodland habitat. More generally, our work demonstrates how emerging modelling approaches incorporating increased realism in re- presenting species' demography, ecology and dispersal can have high value for quick, inexpensive assessment of likely reintroduction success and for selection between alternative strategies.REF Compliant by Deposit in Stirling's Repositor

Parametric instabilities in magnetized multicomponent plasmas

This paper investigates the excitation of various natural modes in a magnetized bi-ion or dusty plasma. The excitation is provided by parametrically pumping the magnetic field. Here two ion-like species are allowed to be fully mobile. This generalizes our previous work where the second heavy species was taken to be stationary. Their collection of charge from the background neutral plasma modifies the dispersion properties of the pump and excited waves. The introduction of an extra mobile species adds extra modes to both these types of waves. We firstly investigate the pump wave in detail, in the case where the background magnetic field is perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the pump wave. Then we derive the dispersion equation relating the pump to the excited wave for modes propagating parallel to the background magnetic field. It is found that there are a total of twelve resonant interactions allowed, whose various growth rates are calculated and discussed.Comment: Published in May 2004; this is a late submission to the archive. 14 pages, 8 figure

Subjective wellbeing among young dancers with disabilities

Little is known about the subjective wellbeing (SWB) of young dancers with disabilities and whether it changes over time. The aim of this study was to assess the SWB of young dancers with disabilities enrolled on an extracurricular inclusive talent development programme in the UK at two time points. Twenty-two young dancers completed the Personal Wellbeing Index for people with intellectual disability at the beginning of the academic year. Thirteen dancers completed the questionnaire a second time towards the end of the academic year. Scores were compared with normative values, and a Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was conducted to assess change over time. The participants reported high levels of SWB at both time points in comparison with normative values. There was no significant change in wellbeing scores over time. The study contributes to a growing body of literature suggesting that people with disabilities have high levels of SWB. Although causality cannot be assumed, inclusive dance programmes may contribute to SWB and allow young people with disabilities to overcome the barriers associated with physical activity

The police and the far right in Greece::a case study of police voting behaviour in Athens

The electoral advance of the far right party of Golden Dawn has left a clear mark on the Greek parliamentary elections of 2012. A less debated aspect of these results involves the extent of the electoral influence of Golden Dawn among police personnel. Using electoral data from two districts in Greece’s capital city, this paper explores the extent of that influence among major front line police units based in those localities. Our analysis obtains clear indications that Golden Dawn’s presence has been much more emphatic among police personnel than among the general public. These results warrant further exploration of this development, particularly in light of the possibility that far-right ideology may influence the character of everyday policing in Greece and the use of police discretion at the detriment of vulnerable or politically undesirable groups

Peatland Initiation, Carbon Accumulation, and 2 ka Depth in the James Bay Lowland and Adjacent Regions

Copyright © 2014 University of Colorado at Boulder, Institute of Arctic and Alpine ResearchPeatlands surrounding Hudson and James Bays form the second largest peatland complex in the world and contain major stores of soil carbon (C). This study utilized a transect of eight ombrotrophic peat cores from remote regions of central and northern Ontario to quantify the magnitude and rate of C accumulation since peatland initiation and for the past 2000 calendar years before present (2 ka). These new data were supplemented by 17 millennially resolved chronologies from a literature review covering the Boreal Shield, Hudson Plains, and Taiga Shield bordering Hudson and James Bays. Peatlands initiated in central and northern Ontario by 7.8 ka following deglaciation and isostatic emergence of northern areas to above sea level. Total C accumulated since inception averaged 109.7 ± (std. dev.) 36.2 kg C m–2. Approximately 40% of total soil C has accumulated since 2 ka at an average apparent rate of 20.2 ± 6.9 g C m–2 yr–1. The 2 ka depths correlate significantly and positively with modern gridded climate estimates for mean annual precipitation, mean annual air temperature, growing degree-days > 0 °C, and photosynthetically active radiation integrated over days > 0 °C. There are significantly shallower depths in permafrost peatlands. Vertical peat accumulation was likely constrained by temperature, growing season length, and photosynthetically active radiation over the last 2 ka in the Hudson Bay Lowlands and surrounding regions.US National Science Foundatio

Unequal childhoods: A case study application of Lareau’s ‘accomplishment of natural growth’ in British working-class and poor families

International authors have argued that social class inequalities can influence parental engagement in education (Bourdieu, 1974). Lareau argued that middle-class families possess the resources to actively cultivate their children to succeed academically, whereas working-class and poor families feel they lack such resources and allow their children to develop limited and passive relations with school. This paper applies a core element of Lareau’s typology of child rearing to examine disadvantaged British mothers’ experience of engaging with schools. A study involving 77 parents and caregivers of secondary school children, considered disadvantaged, sought to understand the experiences of parental engagement in primary and secondary education. Selective case studies have been chosen from this larger study, using a thematic analysis, to understand how these mothers interpreted their experiences of engaging with secondary education, their feelings of frustration, powerlessness and distance from secondary school. The stories presented illustrate that the ‘accomplishment of natural growth’ provides a contemporary class analysis framework to interpret the experiences of some disadvantaged British parents. Recommendations are made advising how Lareau’s typology of child rearing can inform policy and practice in the British education system and recommendations for future research are made with the purpose of promoting equal access to educational engagement and opportunitie

Outlier SNPs detect weak regional structure against a background of genetic homogeneity in the Eastern Rock Lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi

Genetic differentiation is characteristically weak in marine species making assessments of population connectivity and structure difficult. However, the advent of genomic methods has increased genetic resolution, enabling studies to detect weak, but significant population differentiation within marine species. With an increasing number of studies employing high resolution genome-wide techniques, we are realising that the connectivity of marine populations is often complex and quantifying this complexity can provide an understanding of the processes shaping marine species genetic structure and to inform long-term, sustainable management strategies. This study aims to assess the genetic structure, connectivity, and local adaptation of the Eastern Rock Lobster (Sagmariasus verreauxi), which has a maximum pelagic larval duration of 12 months and inhabits both subtropical and temperate environments. We used 645 neutral and 15 outlier SNPs to genotype lobsters collected from the only two known breeding populations and a third episodic population—encompassing S. verreauxi's known range. Through examination of the neutral SNP panel, we detected genetic homogeneity across the three regions, which extended across the Tasman Sea encompassing both Australian and New Zealand populations. We discuss differences in neutral genetic signature of S. verreauxi and a closely related, co-distributed rock lobster, Jasus edwardsii, determining a regional pattern of genetic disparity between the species, which have largely similar life histories. Examination of the outlier SNP panel detected weak genetic differentiation between the three regions. Outlier SNPs showed promise in assigning individuals to their sampling origin and may prove useful as a management tool for species exhibiting genetic homogeneity

Genetic variability of the grey wolf Canis lupus in the Caucasus in comparison with Europe and the Middle East: distinct or intermediary population?

Despite continuous historical distribution of the grey wolf (Canis lupus) throughout Eurasia, the species displays considerable morphological differentiation that resulted in delimitation of a number of subspecies. However, these morphological discontinuities are not always consistent with patterns of genetic differentiation. Here we assess genetic distinctiveness of grey wolves from the Caucasus (a region at the border between Europe and West Asia) that have been classified as a distinct subspecies C. l. cubanensis. We analysed their genetic variability based on mtDNA control region, microsatellite loci and genome-wide SNP genotypes (obtained for a subset of the samples), and found similar or higher levels of genetic diversity at all these types of loci as compared with other Eurasian populations. Although we found no evidence for a recent genetic bottleneck, genome-wide linkage disequilibrium patterns suggest a long-term demographic decline in the Caucasian population – a trend consistent with other Eurasian populations. Caucasian wolves share mtDNA haplotypes with both Eastern European and West Asian wolves, suggesting past or ongoing gene flow. Microsatellite data also suggest gene flow between the Caucasus and Eastern Europe. We found evidence for moderate admixture between the Caucasian wolves and domestic dogs, at a level comparable with other Eurasian populations. Taken together, our results show that Caucasian wolves are not genetically isolated from other Eurasian populations, share with them the same demographic trends, and are affected by similar conservation problems

What is the 'dominant model' of British policymaking? Comparing majoritarian and policy community ideas

The aim of this article is to help identify the fundamental characteristics of the British policymaking system. It highlights an enduring conflict of interpretation within the literature. On the one hand, most contemporary analysts argue that the ‘Westminster model' is outmoded and that it has been replaced by modern understandings based on ‘governance'. On the other, key ideas associated with the Westminster model, regarding majoritarian government and policy imposition, are still in good currency in the academic literature, which holds firm to Lijphart's description of the United Kingdom as a majoritarian democracy. These very different understandings of British government are both commonly cited, but without much recognition that their conclusions may be mutually incompatible. To address this lack of comparison of competing narratives, the article outlines two main approaches to describe and explain the ‘characteristic and durable' ways of doing things in Britain: the ‘policy styles' literature initiated by Richardson in Policy Styles in Western Europe and the Lijphart account found in Democracies and revised in 1999 as Patterns of Democracy. The article encourages scholars to reject an appealing compromise between majoritarian and governance accounts

High Connectivity in the Deepwater Snapper Pristipomoides filamentosus (Lutjanidae) across the Indo-Pacific with Isolation of the Hawaiian Archipelago

In the tropical Indo-Pacific, most phylogeographic studies have focused on the shallow-water taxa that inhabit reefs to approximately 30 m depth. Little is known about the large predatory fishes, primarily snappers (subfamily Etelinae) and groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae) that occur at 100–400 m. These long-lived, slow-growing species support fisheries across the Indo-Pacific, yet no comprehensive genetic surveys within this group have been conducted. Here we contribute the first range-wide survey of a deepwater Indo-Pacific snapper, Pristipomoides filamentosus, with special focus on Hawai'i. We applied mtDNA cytochrome b and 11 microsatellite loci to 26 samples (N = 1,222) collected across 17,000 km from Hawai'i to the western Indian Ocean. Results indicate that P. filamentosus is a highly dispersive species with low but significant population structure (mtDNA ΦST = 0.029, microsatellite FST = 0.029) due entirely to the isolation of Hawai'i. No population structure was detected across 14,000 km of the Indo-Pacific from Tonga in the Central Pacific to the Seychelles in the western Indian Ocean, a pattern rarely observed in reef species. Despite a long pelagic phase (60–180 days), interisland dispersal as adults, and extensive gene flow across the Indo-Pacific, P. filamentosus is unable to maintain population connectivity with Hawai'i. Coalescent analyses indicate that P. filamentosus may have colonized Hawai'i 26 K–52 K y ago against prevailing currents, with dispersal away from Hawai'i dominating migration estimates. P. filamentosus harbors low genetic diversity in Hawai'i, a common pattern in marine fishes, and our data indicate a single archipelago-wide stock. However, like the Hawaiian Grouper, Hyporthodus quernus, this snapper had several significant pairwise comparisons (FST) clustered around the middle of the archipelago (St. Rogatien, Brooks Banks, Gardner) indicating that this region may be isolated or (more likely) receives input from Johnston Atoll to the south