Evaluating incentive mechanisms for conserving habitat

Private lands have an important role in the success of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The current command-andcontrol approach to protecting species on private land has resulted in disincentives to the landowner, which have decreased the ability of the ESA to protect many of our endangered and threatened species. Herein we define and evaluate, from an economic perspective, eight incentive mechanisms, including the status quo, for protecting species on private land. We highlight the strengths and weaknesses and compare and contrast the incentive mechanisms according to a distinct set of biological, landowner, and government criteria. Our discussion indicates that market instruments, such as tradable permits or taxes, which have been successful in controlling air pollution, are not as effective for habitat protection. Alternatively, voluntary incentive mechanisms can be designed such that landowners view habitat as an asset and are willing participants in protecting habitat. The incentive mechanism best suited for conserving habitat in a given region depends on many factors, including government funding, land values, quantity and quality of habitat, and the region's developmental pressure.Incentives, Conservation, TDRs, Subsidies, Zoning, conservation Easements, mitigation banking, impact fees

Tradable Set-Aside Requirements (TSARs): Conserving Spatially Dependent Environmental Amenities

In the lab, we examine the effectiveness of two land use conservation policies: a tradable set aside requirements (TSARs), and the TSARs combined with an agglomeration bonus. Evaluated by bioeconomic efficiency, our experimental results suggest: 1) TSARs is a cost-effective land conservation tool; and 2) combining TSARS with the agglomeration bonus increases habitat connectivity but at a price—lower economic efficiency.Conservation, tradable development rights, spatial conservation, market instruments

Experimental Economics and the Environment: Eliciting Values for Controversial Goods

We illustrate the experimental method by examining bidding behavior for controversial goods, i.e., goods in which bidders have positive and negative values. Our results suggest that bidding behavior differs across auction type. Bidders with positive induced values bid sincerely in a WTP auction. Bidders bid conservatively, however, in the WTA auction, foregoing profitable opportunities. Informing bidders of their optimal strategy serves to attenuate bidding discrepancies but does not eliminate them. Treating the WTP and WTA auctions as equivalent given positive and negative values could lead one to overstate the costs relative to the benefits of the controversial good.experiments, willingness to pay, willingness to accept, positive and negative induced values, Crop Production/Industries, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

ESTIMATING AREA AND LAG ASSOCIATED WITH THERMAL HYSTERESIS IN CATTLE

Thermal hysteresis in cattle becomes visible when the phase diagram of body temperature (Tb) vs ambient temperature (Ta) exhibits a loop. The hysteresis loop shows a rotated elliptical pattern which depends on the lag between Tb and Ta. The area of the loop can be used to quantify the amount of heat stress during thermal challenge. Three methods to estimate the area and lag of the elliptical hysteresis loop are: linear least squares method, ellipse-specific nonlinear least squares method, and Lapshin’s analytical method. Linear least squares method uses residual least squares to estimate the coefficients of the ellipse for which the sum of the squares of the distances to the observations is minimal. The estimated coefficients can be used to calculate both the rotated angle and area of the ellipse. The ellipse-specific method is based on quadratic constrained least mean squares fitting to simultaneously determine the best elliptical fit for a set of scattered data. It provides estimates of the rotated angle and semi-major and semi-minor axes to calculate the area of the ellipse. Lapshin’s analytical method is a two-stage procedure that fits a sinusoidal function to the input and then the output. It provides parameters in addition to lag and area which further characterize the hysteresis loop. The area and lag along with their standard errors are compared for the three methods using the delta method and bootstrapping. The delta method is used to calculate the standard errors of the derived parameter estimates and bootstrapping is used to assess the appropriateness of the delta method

A preliminary training guide for utilizing high-altitude, color-infrared photography in compiling soil maps

Instruction for acquiring and analytically processing small-scale color-infrared photography to perform a soil resources inventory over forests of the southern U.S. is provided. Planning the project; acquiring aerial photography, materials, equipment and supplemental data; and preparing the photography for analysis are discussed. The procedures for preparing ancillary and primary component overlays are discussed. The use of correlation charts and dichotomous keys for mountain landforms, water regime, and vegetation is explained

TATA-Binding Protein Recognition and Bending of a Consensus Promoter Are Protein Species Dependent

The structure and behavior of full-length human TBP binding the adenovirus major late promoter (AdMLP) have been characterized using biophysical methods. The human protein induces a 97° bend in DNAAdMLP. The high-resolution functional data provide a quantitative energetic and kinetic description of the partial reaction sequence as native human TBP binds rapidly to a consensus promoter with high affinity. The reaction proceeds with successive formation of three bound species, all having strongly bent DNA, with the concurrence of binding and bending demonstrated by both fluorescence and anisotropy stopped flow. These results establish the protein species dependence of the TBP−DNAAdMLP structure and recognition mechanism. Additionally, the strong correlation between the DNA bend angle and transcription efficiency demonstrated previously for yeast TBP is shown to extend to human TBP. The heterologous NH2-terminal domains are the apparent source of the species-specific differences. Together with previous studies the present work establishes that TBPwt−DNATATA function and structure depend both on the TATA box sequence and on the TBP species

TATA-Binding Protein Recognition and Bending of a Consensus Promoter Are Protein Species Dependent

The structure and behavior of full-length human TBP binding the adenovirus major late promoter (AdMLP) have been characterized using biophysical methods. The human protein induces a 97° bend in DNAAdMLP. The high-resolution functional data provide a quantitative energetic and kinetic description of the partial reaction sequence as native human TBP binds rapidly to a consensus promoter with high affinity. The reaction proceeds with successive formation of three bound species, all having strongly bent DNA, with the concurrence of binding and bending demonstrated by both fluorescence and anisotropy stopped flow. These results establish the protein species dependence of the TBP−DNAAdMLP structure and recognition mechanism. Additionally, the strong correlation between the DNA bend angle and transcription efficiency demonstrated previously for yeast TBP is shown to extend to human TBP. The heterologous NH2-terminal domains are the apparent source of the species-specific differences. Together with previous studies the present work establishes that TBPwt−DNATATA function and structure depend both on the TATA box sequence and on the TBP species

What Do Driver’s Education Manuals Contain Relative to Wildlife and Animal Dangers on Roads?

Most states in the U.S. provide driver’s education manuals (DEMs) as instructional material for instruction of novice drivers. U.S. territories and other countries also provide DEMs. DEMs were requested from U.S. states and territories and acquired from a number of foreign sources. Content was examined relative to animals and safe driving. Of the 42 U.S. DEMs reviewed, 20 had specific advice about coping with animals on the road, 25 used signs involving animals as illustrations, 6 dealt specifically with deer, and 14 referred to farm animals (i.e., horseback riders, animal drawn vehicles, range animals). The Ontario, Canada, and Victoria, Australia, manuals provided a sizeable range of advice relative to animals and the road, whereas the United Kingdom and Ireland materials provided advice relative to livestock on the roads. The consideration given in DEMs to animal-related risks seems very limited, particularly in giving specific advice to anticipate and deal with potential or existing animal hazards

How Losses affect Bidding Behavior in Vickrey Auctions

We use Vickrey uniform auctions to provide an indirect robustness test of the endowment effect. Our panel data promotes two results: (1) evidence of the endowment effect exists in that risk seeking behavior following losses is less severe for 'out of pocket' losses as opposed to foregone gain. We did not find support for the prediction that bidders recoil from future losses following a realized loss (i.e., become more risk averse); and (2) a form of gamblers fallacy termed the escalation of commitment better explains bidding behavior for inexperienced bidders—risk seeking bidding behavior is observed following a loss. But as bidders gain experience the escalation of commitment is attenuated for “out of pocket” losses but not for foregone gains

Evaluating incentive mechanisms for conserving habitat

Private lands have an important role in the success of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The current command-andcontrol approach to protecting species on private land has resulted in disincentives to the landowner, which have decreased the ability of the ESA to protect many of our endangered and threatened species. Herein we define and evaluate, from an economic perspective, eight incentive mechanisms, including the status quo, for protecting species on private land. We highlight the strengths and weaknesses and compare and contrast the incentive mechanisms according to a distinct set of biological, landowner, and government criteria. Our discussion indicates that market instruments, such as tradable permits or taxes, which have been successful in controlling air pollution, are not as effective for habitat protection. Alternatively, voluntary incentive mechanisms can be designed such that landowners view habitat as an asset and are willing participants in protecting habitat. The incentive mechanism best suited for conserving habitat in a given region depends on many factors, including government funding, land values, quantity and quality of habitat, and the region's developmental pressure